I had a wonderful time getting to know Brianna, a senior at Hudson High School.  Brianna is an ambitious and compassionate girl who will be attending Bethel University in the fall!  We found ourselves racing against an incoming storm during her session but Brianna wasn’t phased in the least.  She kept me laughing and smiling the whole way through and when we felt the rain drops we both shrugged our shoulders and kept shooting through the rain.  I loved hearing about the mission trips she’s been on and about her plans for the future.  It was definitely a session to remember!  Best wishes to you, Brianna!

Anytime I have the opportunity to work with  motivated, hard-working, kind and generous kids it serves as a good reminder that I might just have the best job in the world.   Sophie, a senior at East Ridge High School, is the perfect example…she has an incredibly sweet disposition with incredible character.    I so enjoyed chatting with her and her mom as we walked around town during her session and learning more about Sophie and her plans for the future.  It’s clients like this that make it so fun for me to get up and go to work every day!

My session with Abby, a Hudson High School senior, took place on a beautiful day in August.  Abby’s confidence and bubbly personality made for a FUN session.  So much so, that I think I was smiling behind the camera just as much as she was in front of the camera.  We shared a few great belly laughs as we wandered around town chatting and getting to know each other throughout her session.  Abby was an absolute delight to photograph!

Every year I’m always amazed at how much my senior clients and I have in common!  As Ella and I were driving around to various locations it felt a lot like I was talking to a long lost friend instead of someone I had just met.  Our shared love of reading, fashion, and traveling made for a great conversation and also made the time fly.  On the day of her session she received her acceptance letter from her #1 choice…The University of Iowa.  I’m incredibly excited for her and know she will excel in college.  Ella, I wish you the very best as you head into your senior year.  I had a great time working with you!

One of the best aspects of my job is that it has connected me with people I might otherwise not have met.  Take for example, my dear friend Darcy.  She came to my studio several years ago to interview me as a potential wedding photographer.  Within five minutes of our meeting I think we both knew we were meant to be friends.  Luckily, she choose me to capture her special day and since then we’ve become very good friends.  In fact, we’ve become such good friends I now consider her part of my “home team”.  (If any of you have read Shauna Niequist’s book “Bittersweet” I’m sure you’ll appreciate the reference.)  At any rate, Darcy has become one of those friends I know I can count on for just about anything.  I can show up to her house in my pajamas in the middle of the day and she wouldn’t bat an eye.  Darcy always seems to have the best advice and nobody can make me laugh quite like she can.

Even though Darcy dabbles in photography and has honed her skills to become quite a photographer, she still commissions my services to capture her photos of her family.  This is such an honor knowing how much photos mean to Darcy!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 4 years since Darcy and her husband welcomed Cleo into their family.  Every year since then we’ve done a photo session and every year I’m convinced that Cleo was born to be in front of a camera.  She absolutely delights in having her picture taken!  This year she was anxious to show me how she jumps off the diving board doing all kinds of tricks.  Then, when I was getting ready to leave she begged me to sit down so she could paint a picture for me before I had to leave.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while it should come as no surprise to you when I say that I love high school senior season.  It’s such a treat for me to work with kids who are on the brink of adulthood and to listen to them talk about their hopes and dreams for the future.  My session with Courtney was no exception.  I had a great time getting to know her and hearing about her plans for college.  She has the world at her fingertips and I have no doubt she’ll make the most of it.  Best wishes to you, Courtney!

A blog post is long overdue here at Jamie Schultz but I can assure you that the delay was well worth it.  This summer has been filled with a number of incredible experiences and I’m doing my best to slow down in an attempt to savor each and every one of them.  Perhaps the most exciting event was my 3-week “girls trip” to Europe.  My mom, sister, niece and I made the trek across the pond to visit Italy, Austria, Germany, France, and Great Britain.  While it was hard to be away from my family and friends and to take a short leave of absence from my job I have to say it was well worth it as we saw some incredible sites, hiked across beautiful terrain, indulged in amazing food and wine, and met memorable people along the way.  It was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity and one I’ll always remember.  Having said that, I’m thrilled to be back at the studio! The trip made me fall in love with photography all over again, and I’m having more fun than ever with my craft this summer.

Bienvenue, little miss Amélia!  After spending time with this beautiful baby girl and her family I can safely say there may be no sweeter sound than parents singing and speaking to their newborn in French.  I’ve always heard that French is a beautiful language but  hearing it spoken to a baby gave me a new appreciation.  Amélia is so loved and adored by her Mom and Dad and as you’ll see in some of the photos below I think she is just as smitten with them as they are with her.  Congratulations Isabelle and Pierre-Marc!  I loved photographing your sweet new addition and being able to share some time with you as you welcomed her home.

We are officially in “senior grad card” mode here at the studio as we work diligently to fill card orders.  I always love putting these together knowing what an exciting time this is for my high school senior clients.  I thought it would be fun to share a few of our most popular designs from this season:

I also have an exciting studio announcement to share!  Each and every year we get an increasing number of requests from consumers who worked with photographers who only offered digital images from their session.  They reach out to us to see if they can purchase card designs so they can share their favorite photos with their friends and family while announcing their new addition, graduation open house, or to send a holiday greeting.  We’ve received so many requests over the years that we’ve finally decided to open an Etsy store, Studio 202 Designs, where the general public can now order custom card designs as a ready to print file.   You can find out more about the services we offer by clicking on the shop link HERE and reading the product descriptions.

Here’s a peek at the new on-line storefront!

Last week, I shared a few tips for storing personal photos.  Today I thought I’d take it a step further by talking about my “everyday” camera.  As a professional photographer, the pressure to capture great photos can be overwhelming even when snapping everyday photos of the kids.  For years I lugged my equipment around to school concerts, sporting events, birthday parties, family gatherings, etc…  which not only was a pain to haul, but it always felt cumbersome and intrusive.  When I was shooting in a dark space or things were moving quickly I often found myself scrambling with my external flash and settings all in an attempt to capture great photos of these once in a lifetime happenings.  It didn’t take long before I started dreading having to document these events.  In fact, I started feeling like I was missing out on the event because I was so consumed with trying to take great pictures.  So often I longed to take off my professional photographer hat and attend these events simply as a mom.  For a while I quit taking my gear and relied solely on my iPhone and well, let’s just say those were anything but “great” photos so I knew I needed to find a happy medium.

This drove me to research small point-and-shoot cameras that would fit in my purse and/or coat pocket, but still live up to my expectations in terms of producing quality photos.  It took a while but I’ve finally found one I’m happy with and best of all…I’m actually using it!  Now, I will say that this camera isn’t exactly cheap but I’m a big believer in the saying “You get what you pay for!”.  The Sony DSC-RX100 is light & compact so it easily fits in my purse, but beyond that the quality of the photos are really top notch for a point-and-shoot camera.  One thing I like the most about this camera is the flash.  Most point-and-shoot cameras I’ve used have a bright, concentrated flash that tend to make subjects look white and ghostly.  The flash on this particular model is unlike anything I’ve seen in a compact camera.  I’m also impressed with the colors and overall performance in a variety of lighting situations.  I could go on and on about all the things I like about it, but I think what I like most is that it’s given me back some freedom.  Do I still use my pro equipment on my kids?  Absolutely!  But when I want to attend an event or when something is happening around the house and I don’t want the burden and pressure of hauling around my pro gear this little camera is a great solution.